Students get investment lesson

By JAN HOGAN

VIEW STAFF WRITER

Clark High School is handing students $100,000 and telling them to go play the stock market.

OK, the money is fictitious, but the concept is not.

It's part of the school's Academy of Finance curriculum, aimed at teaching students economics and the role stocks and mutual funds play.

Using computer software, the students are able to make picks and trades based on actual stock market reportings. Their progress is monitored by the computer and they are ranked daily against other high schools in the state. The ultimate goal is to make the largest profit at the end of the 10-week class, which ends Dec. 1.

Buying and selling stock can be a bit intimidating, so students are broken up into groups and they make decisions as a team. Because making money in a short period of time requires obtaining rising stocks and dumping them at the first indication of a dip, most teams' portfolios are in a constant state of flux. They pour over stock prices daily, trying to find the hot trend. Each day they rejoice at -- or worry over -- every 5 cent change.

"Sony was making us, then breaking us," said James Hollis, 15, whose team also includes Breea Jackson, Gerda Pierrot and Deon Staton. "We figured the price of the Play Station II (that Sony just unveiled) was so high, people were staying away. But we hope the stock will rise because of Christmas."

Hollis and his team, who have also purchased Coca Cola, Cisco Systems and Electronic Arts stock, figured they had profited by $600 so far.

Although the stock market class has been around a few years, it use to rely on business publications to ascertain a company's performance. Now the computer program, installed in Clark's 32 math computers last year, gives up-to-the-moment online stock prices. Teams are allowed 50 trades (buys or sells) during the 10-week class.

LaToya Latson, 15, said she's chosen one or two real winners.

"There are so many of them and you have to know which ones to pick -- and when," she said. "That's really important."

D.J. Gambino, 15, who is eying a career as a broker, has used what he's learned to educate his mother on investing for her future.

"It makes you feel you're not a child when you explain this to your parent," he said. "It makes you feel good."

Teacher Angela McBride cautions them that in the real world, most people buy stock in a company and hold onto it through the bumps and valleys of the economy. Still, the students are picking up lessons that reach beyond American borders.

"The most valuable lesson is they see their place in the global economy," McBride said. "Their choices affect the economy on a worldwide scale."

The computer program is called SMS, Stock Market Stimulation, and is used around the country. More information can be found at www.nevadasma.com.

Recruiting for the Academy of Finance is going on now until February. If interested, contact Karen Steen at 799-5800 Ext. 221.